Shia & Hadrat Umar (Radi Allahu anhu)

[Ghulam Mustufa]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu


This is one of 20 questions that the Shia sect allege (in one of their websites) that the Ahl as-Sunnah w'al Jamaah are unable to answer. The question has not been edited in any form.

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QUESTION 7.

If Hadhrath Umar was correct when he denied the dying request of the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) (saaws) on the premise that the 'Qur'an is sufficient for us' (Sahih al Bukhari Vol 7 hadith number 573) what will be the reward for accusing the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) (saaws) of speaking nonsense?
(See Sahih al-Bukhari Vol 5 number 716)

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu



All Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallamand His Blessed Family & Noble Companions



First of all it has to be made clear, that the way in which the questioner has posed the question, is erroneous. It is the belief of the Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama'ah, that none of the Noble Companions Radi Allahu anhum, or any of those who followed after them were 'deniers' (munkirin) of anybody, as is stated in the question:

'If Hadhrath Umar was correct when he denied ....'

This is totally contrary to the belief of the mass of Muslims throughout the world, and renders the belief of a Muslim to misguidance. Mu'adhallah, it would be a false accusation to state that Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu was a denier.


Secondly, it is also false to state that any of the Prophets have died. They do however undergo a moment of transfer from this world to the next, by means of a death. It is even stated in some books that the Prophets are asked beforehand by the 'angel of death' whether he should arrive to take the soul away, or whether he should postpone the matter to a later time. A classical example of this is when the 'angel of death' came to the Prophet Moses alayhis 'salam, which resulted in the Prophet Moses alayhis 'salam slapping the 'angel of death' so hard that his eye fell out! So how can the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam make a .... 'dying request ' - when Allah the Almighty had already stated in the Qur'an al kareem:

'Ya ayyuharr rasulu balligh ma unzila ilayka'


'Oh Messenger of Allah, effectively deliver what has been revealed to you from your lord.' (Qur'an : 5:67)

This verse clearly shows that the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam had delivered everything pertaining to the 'din' of Islam. The Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam did not conceal any laws pertaining to the propogation of the religion. Hence His request for the pen and ink at the time of his physical death and not having anything written was not on account of any command, with regard to propogation, but it's purpose was to write and order from previously explained orders. Otherwise it would have been contrary to this verse. Allah the Almighty further states:

'Wa atmamtu 'alaykum ni'mati wa raditu lakumul Islama dina'


'This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour upon you, and have chosen the religion Islam for you. (Qur'an: 5: 3)

Here completion means the details about beliefs, revelations pertaining to religious laws, and the interpretation of principles regarding Islamic laws are now all complete. No new verses will be revealed, nor any abrogation will take place.


The hadith that my friend has related to appears in the Bukhari Shareef, and the way he has posed the question stems to mind the fact that he is trying to belittle Sayyadina Umar Radi Allahu anhu. But the truth is that whoever tries to belittle the sultans of Islam, Allah the Almighty shall belittle them. The hadith states:


'An ibne 'Abbasinn qala lamma ishtadda bin nabiyyi Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam waja'uhu qala i'tuni bi kitabinn aktubu lakum kitabann la tadillu ba'duhu qala 'umaru annan nabiyya Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam ghalaba hul waj'u wa indana kitabullahi hasbuna fakhtalafu wa kathural lagatu qala qumu 'anni wa lambaghi indat tanazu'u fa kharaja ibnu 'Abbasiyy yaqulu annar raziyyata kullur raziyyah'


'From Ibne 'Abbas Radi Allahu anhu who said 'When the pain of the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam became vehement He Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam bring to me a paper, so that I may write for you a saying afterwhich you will not go astray. Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu said 'The Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam is seriously ill, and we have Allah's Book with us, and that is sufficient for us, they argued about this, and there was a hue and cry. Thereupon, the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said 'Go away, it is not right that you quarrel in front of me. Then Hadrat Ibne 'Abbas Radi Allahu anhu repeated 'This is turmoil, this is a great turmoil which has took place between the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, and His Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's writing.


This hadith is known as the 'Hadith-e-qirtas', and has appeared seven times in the Bukhari Shareef. The request that was made by the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala alayhi wa Sallam with all research due to it, shows that such a request was made five days prior to the leave from this world. Certain people state that it was Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu who upon the request of the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said 'ahjara istafhamuhu'-'has the time to part arrived'?


The first objection people make is that Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu accused the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam of saying delirium wording. The answer to this is that it was not Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu who used such wording. This hadith has been mentioned seven times, and no where in it's wording have such words been used by Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu. What it does say is 'qalu'-'They said', now who these people were is a different issue.


Secondly, the word 'ahajara', does not mean words of delirium, but means seperation. When the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was going to part from this world, someone said 'ahajara istafhamuhu' 'Has the time for seperation arrived? please ask' This statement clearly suggests that it's meaning did not intend delirium, but seperation. How can someone in such a delirium state be asked a question? Thirdly, in six of the narrations, there appears a 'hamza istifham', only in one, it appears without the 'hamzah istifham' which would still negate such a meaning, since the majority of the narrations has it, it cannot mean delirium for that single narration, as it will have to be considered with 'hamzah istifham' according to the principles of 'usul-al-hadith'.


The third objection is that Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhuprevented the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala alayhi wa Sallam from writing such a note which would have prevented the ummah from misguidance. This again is a false accusation as the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam remained for a further five days, in which there was sufficient time for any kind of writing. The reason for the statement made by Hadrat 'Umar was only because he did not want the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam to become too active during His Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam illness, and therefore said that the Qur'an al kareem was sufficient.


The accusation that the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam feared Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu is also false, as the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam had propogated the religion in front of all kuffar and mushrikin of Makkah, some He was troubled by, and others not so much, still He hadnt had this fear of them, as Hadrat 'Umar embraced Islam later.


To denounce Hadrat Umar Radi Allahu anhu, is total misguidance, and a misunderstanding of the relationship Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu had, with the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. It was the duty of such heroes, to speak up in front of people, at the request of the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam. How was it then bearable, not to speak up, when the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, at that time, even though He was doing more than He was obliged to do, as He had given us our religion, which the above verses clearly demonstrate? How was it possible that Hadrat 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu could ever say something contrary to the wishes of the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam? Were they not the paragons of respect and dignity, from whom we all learn, and didnt the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam ever make decisions with His own descretion, even though it was contrary to the wishes of the Companions? That is some food for thought....


May Allah the Almighty guide us rightly in regard to His Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, His Noble Companions Radi Allahu anhum, and all the Great Personalities of Islam, and may He steer us away from false accusations, which could misguide us, and lead us to the fire. (Amin)




Wallahu A'almu Biththawaab



M. Waseem Ashrafi